Other than winning this award, what is your career highlight and why is it a special moment for you?
It is a career highlight to have my work sitting amongst some of the most important art objects in museums across Australia.
After a 25-year career managing arts and culture in local government and not for profits, I took up gold and silversmithing at RMIT in 2008.
My study and research have led to my jewellery holding a unique place in Australia’s contemporary jewellery scene.
My pieces have been collected by the National Gallery of Victoria, the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Sydney and the Art Gallery of South Australia.
As a five-year-old, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a child, I liked to build things take things apart to see how they worked.
I wanted to be something new every week, a show jumper, a sailor, mechanic, a pilot, a doctor, a teacher.
I had no aspirations to be an artist, I didn’t even know that it was an option.
How do you think your profession will change in the next five or 10 years?
Jewellery will always hold a central place in human culture and we have been adorning ourselves for thousands of years.
Evolving technology brings new materials and new ways of making.
As new these processes emerge, artists and jewellers will continue to find ways to incorporate these new technologies into their making and ensuring that their meaning and significance is conveyed.